Plate support for rail joints



R. FARIES `I uly 14, 1931.

PLATE SUPPORT FOR RAIL JOINTS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. l2. 19,29

IBL/6 fag/1.9

July 14, l931.-l l R. FARIES 1,814,548

` PLATEI SUPPORT FOR RAIL JOINTS Filed Aug. l2. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F14. @W 61 ---1--`W l ry i I I l Patented July 14, 1931 UNITED S'l" TiS ROBERT FARIES, GEST. DAVIDS,1PENNSYLVANIA.

PLATE SUPPORT FOB RAIL JOINTS Application led August 12, 1929.. Serial No. 385,253.

My invention relates to a supporting plate for the rail joints of a railroad track in which the abutting ends of successive rails lie intermediate the rail ties.

A purpose of my invention is to support the abutting ends of rails at the extreme ends of the rails midway between supporting ties so that the pressure of a wheel upon either rail will be transmitted nearly uni- 1o formly to both ties irrespective of whether the wheel is very close to the extreme rail end or not.

A further purpose is to integrally combine tie plates upon opposite sides of the abutting ends of a rail joint with a truss plate intermediate the ties.

A further purpose is to provide a tie plate to span two ties and crowned intermediate the ties so as to receive the major portion of its loadat the approximate middle of the plate for transmission to both ties, the load being received from the bottom of a rail flange engaging the crown.

A further purpose is to provide a tie plate extending over two ties with Vone or Amore depending stiifening and strengthening flanges between the ties.

A further purpose is to provide a rail joint supporting plate, to span ties on opn posite sides of the joint, crowned at the joint andhaving upwardly directed rail positioning flanges between the ties. l

A further purpose is to provide a convienient rail-supporting plate which can be made from Vexisting standard shapes and in which a reinforcement of the vsection between the ties can be taken from the Yweb of the existing shape.

I have elec-ted to show a few only of the different forms of my invention, selecting forms that are practical and efficient Yin operation and which well illustrate the principles involved.

Figure l is a top plan view of a plate and truss member embodying one. form of my invention, the splice bars andabutting raill ends supported by the joint being shown in dot and dash lines. i Y

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure l.

` to the l rails.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure l. p

igure 3a is a rsection similar to Figure 3 but showing a modification.

Figure 4L is a top plan View of 'another 5F,

form with the railjoint members in dot and dash lines.

Figure is aside elevation of Figure 4;. Figure 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of y I af Figures 7 and 8 are sectional elevation views of slightly different forms.

Like'numerals refer `to like parts in vall figures'. y Describing in illustration and not in limi- C? tation and referring to the drawings A lMy inventionis 'for use with that type of rail joint in which the abutting ends of the rails lie intermediate, preferably midway between, two ties, and is to considerable ex- 5 f' tent `directed toward providing' a more uniform distribution of the load between the two ties, thereby lessening the shearing stresses in the splicebars of the j ointat the rail ends` and lessening or doing away with 5L relative' vertical movementbetween the rail ends ofthe joint. j f I give the rail ends their major support at their extreme ends Lupon the crown portion of a seating plate, andlocate this crown f so thatthe load pressure transmitted to it is in turn transmitted nearly equally between the two ties, irrespective ofthe exact position ofthe wheels transmitting the load .Thel result is; a more nearly: equaldivision ofthe load between the ties than has -hitherto`r been possible, with a resultant evening out of the'very heavy momentary peak loads on the lindividualties whenthe trainfwheels 53 are passing over the ties.

Iprovde a` combination tie plate andtruss memberfthat comprises tie plate end sections` 10 andl'lkand an intermediate truss portion In the form shown in Figures `l to 3 the tie plate portions 10 and 11 and .thekinten` mediate truss portion l2 are shown all the same width.

The plate as a whole has an upper convex surface secured by upwardly sloping or curving the metal so as to present its crown or highest upwardly directed bearing surfaceat 13, approximately midway between the ties. Y

The truss portion is stiffened and strengthened by one or more dependent flanges 14 intermediate the ties 15 and 16. It is desirable not to extend these flanges over (into) the ties unless the cuts in the ties into which the flanges in that case would fit are treated with creosote or some other preservative. t

The upwardly rounded crown 13 is the region of plate engagement with the bottoms of the flanged abutting rail ends and the load from the train wheels is thus 'transmitted through these rail ends at or near the crown of the truss portion and is therefore transmitted practically uniformly to the ties upon opposite sides of the joint.

The bottom of the plate is preferably relieved slightly at 17 along itsbottom side edges above the ties in order to give it better seating upon the ties and to prevent the plate from cutting the ties along the plate edges.

In all of the forms any roughening or corrugation can be used upon the base of the plate.

Suitable holes provided at 18 through the plate are for the rail spikes while the outer holes at 19 are for spikes to fasten the plate to the ties.

I preferably make the center line 20 of the plate somewhat further out from the middle of the track than the center line 21 of the rail.

This is due to the fact that the pressure transmitted from the train wheels to the rails is not vertically dowrrbut inclines outwardly somewhat, and I endeavor to locate the center line of load transmission from the ,trains` so it will come approximately along the center line of the plate.

Obviouslythe actual line of load transmission will be variant withvariant conditions with respect to engagement between therails and train wheels.

In the form shown in Figures 4 to 6 the tie plate portions 10 and 11 if separated from the connecting truss portion 12 Vwould generally correspond to a form of a tie` plate that has been used in the prior art, having an upper surface curving upwardly at 22, and carrying upwardly extending side flanges 23 along the opposite edges of the supported rail, and lateral flat portions 24 to increase therbearing area upon the ties 15 and 16 and to present spike holes 25 for fastening to the tie.

The rail flanges engage the center rounded crown 13 and the load is uniformly distributed from the center crown to the two ties. vThe crowning can be made slight enough for the heavier or excessive loads to cause engagement of the rail bottom flanges with the end crowns 22.

A crown 13 at the middle of the truss portion should be raised somewhat with respect to the crowns 22 at the middle of the respective tie plate portions, transmitting part of the downward pressure more directly to the middle parts of the tie plates so that the tie plates in turn transmit the load always to the same portion of the tie. In either event there is therefore no tendency to rock the tie plate back and forth while a train is rolling over the rail immediately above it.

The end or tie plate portions resting upon the ties and the intermediate or truss portion between the ties are integral and primarily serve to give the rails a solid support at their extreme ends and for some distance on each side of the extreme ends, with a transmission of the loads simultaneously to both ties.

The intermediate portion 12 comprises a truss connecting the two plate portions and carries downwardly extending side flanges 26 and 27 which are heavy enough to prevent the plate from any material bending in the middle under the loads transmitted to the middle of the truss section.

The upwardly presented surface is shown relatively low at 28 and 29 intermediate the crowns and also relatively low at 30 and 31 toward the outer ends of the tie plate sections. Optionally I may dispense with crowning the tie plate sections.

In the form shown in Figures 4 to 6 the supporting plate may comprise a three-section tie plate that has been sheared for some distance inwardly at 32 at each end of the truss section and bulldozed intermediate the shear cuts to provide the downwardly extending stiffening flanges 26 and 27 intermediate the ties.

The bulldozing operation is made such as tions preferably slope somewhat upwardly from the horizontal from their outer ends toward the middle as indicated at 32 so that when the load comes upon the plate it will initially be transmitted to the ties near the ends of the tie plates and so that the plate can accommodate deflection without upsetting the load distribution on the ties.

The side flanges 23 run along the outer :edges of the rail flanges and may be similar to the corresponding flanges of ordinary tie plates. The perforations 25 and 251 in the laterally extending flat portions of the plate sections may be placed wherever it is found most desirable in view of the type of the splice bars above the plate.

As shown the splice bars are spiked to the ties through the perforations 25 of the tie plate sections while the tie plates themselves are initially spiked to the ties at the perforations 251 which are at a suitable distance from the rails.

In Figure 7 I show a supporting plate in which the tie plate sections are (as in the form of Figures l to 3) not crowned, the crowning at 13 being effected by a long camber 33 along the length of the whole plate and that is highest at the middle. n

In Figure 8 I show a form of plate in which the crowning has been omitted altogether from the upper surface of the main plate, a separate transverse plate 34 preferably crownedV at the middle being previded between the ties and optionally separate transverse plates 35 and 36 being provided for the tie plate sections.

In operation with any of the forms shown, the load of the moving train is transmitted more uniformly between the ties than has hitherto been possible irrespective of the position of the train because the engagement between the rail and supporting plate is always at the same point. The result is a more solid support and very much less requisite strength for the splice bars against shearing at the rail ends, and a consequent longer life of rails and a longer life of the ties at the rail joints.

The types shown inFigures 1 3 and 4-6 are both capable of manufacture from existing rolled shapes, the earlier numbered form from H sections using the web of the H for the stilfening flanges 1A and the form shown in the later figures from rail supporting plates normally used singly but grouped in groups of three for this purpose. Where specially rolled desirable deviations from these shapes will naturally ocf cur to those skilled in the art particularly for the use of one long camber as seen in Figure 7 instead of the succession of swells highest at the middle as seen in Figure 5. One of the features of desirable variation applicable to either form is shown in Figure 3a where the rail seat is canted to receive the slightly diagonal thrust upon the rail and is defined by side flanges 23 and 27.

The use of an inside rib, such as 23 in Figure 3a; is open to question. Its use is not necessary in the view of some engineers who insist upon the outside rib 232. In fact, my invention is suitable for use without either rib, as in Figure 3, with both ribs as in Figure 3a, or with one rib only as desired.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual judgment or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention withoutv copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope Aof my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. An integral rail-joint support comprising a truss member to bridge spaced ties and two; tie plates, one at each end of the truss member to rest each on one ofthe ties, the truss member presenting a bearing surface longitudinally upwardly crown near the middle of the truss and adapted with heavy loads to be engaged by the rail substantially from tie to tie.

2. y An integral rail-joint support comprising a truss member to bridge spaced ties and two tie plates, one at each end of the truss member to rest each on one of the ties, the truss member presenting a bearing surface longitudinally upwardly cambered to a crown near the middle of the truss, bending under heavy loads into continuous engagement with the ties and having a downwardly extending flange for supporting the rail ends intermediate spaced ties.

3. An integral rail-joint support` that bows upwardly longitudinally on its under side from its opposite ends and that comprises a truss member and two tie plate members, one at each end of the truss member resting substantially flat on the ties and brought into close engagement with them whenthe support is depressed.

il. An integral rail-joint support having opposite ends supported on spaced ties Vhaving rail spacing flanges on its upper side,

and downwardly depending side flanges intermediate the spacing flanges.

5. An integral rail-joint supportV comprising a truss member to bridge spaced ties and a tie plate at each end of the truss member, the truss member having downwardly eX- tending flanges between the tie plate members and each of the three members being crowned so as to present bearing engagement with the rail at the middle of the respective members.

6. A rail joint support comprising tie supported end sections and an intermediate section higher than the tie sections to support the rail ends near the joint and transmit their pressure to the ties, said intermediate section having a central depending longitudinal stiffening flange.

7. A rail joint support comprising tie supported end sections and an intermediate section whose supporting surface is higher than the end sections to support the rail ends near the joint and transmit their pressure/to the ties, said intermediate section having a pair of spaced depending side longitudinal stif- V ening flanges.

8. A rail joint support comprising the cambered to a supported end sections' and an intermediate section higher than the tie sections to sup; port the rail ends near the joint and transmit their pressure to the ties, said intermediate section having a pair of rail-seat-delining upper ribs and a depending longitudinal stiilening ange.

9. A rail joint support comprising tie supportedL end sections and an intermediate section higher than the tie sections to support the rail ends near` the joint and transmit their pressure to the ties7 said intermediate section havin@ a rail seat laterally at an angle to the horizontal7 limiting ribs along ,i the seat and a dependinglongitudinal stifening flange.

ROBERT FARIES. 

